It seems that every year, no matter what team is is on, Robbie Keane is being shopped to be sold to some other team. After watching him play for a few seasons - esp. that season at Tottenham w/ Berbatov, where they were magic together - I think he's pretty good. He can score, sets up others with deft passing, and displays a very high work rate.
What gives?
Posted Sep 2, 2010, 8:25 PM UTC
206 goals in 525 career games isn't actually that bad! And 43 in 100 for Ireland.. seen a lot worse.
I guess he's never really 'the right player' for a team I think, and his wage demands are always insanely high.
Sounds like you are making a case for him.
Honestly, watching him play and looking at his numbers (and his fitness - none of this 6 weeks ankle injury crap) he seems to be a good forward who could contribute to any EPL club.
And scoring in nearly half of Ireland's international games??? That's an even stronger endorsement!
He would be a star at any club other than United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs, City, Liverpool!!
no, he could be a star at those clubs too.
He was doing fine at Spurs till he decided he wanted to change clubs. Rafa wasn't too happy about getting Keane, when he wanted Barry. Keane didn't fit into his 4-5-1 based plans I believe. So, even though Keane played pretty decent, he was dropped regardless of his performance. Ever since he's returned to Spurs, it's gone downhill. Redknapp played him for a while, and then started dropping him from squad, just like Rafa did, regardless of performance. If he didn't score, it was obvious that he wouldn't start the next game, and even if he played well, there was no guarantee.
The statistics tell the story, really.
So do you think he deserves a starting role on an EPL team?
I just think he is overlooked as a quality forward who continues to play at a high level.
If I were an EPL manager, I'd definitely want him on my squad. He works his a$$ off in games and makes the players around him better with his effort, passing, etc.
Pav/Crouch/Defoe are all a level higher than him right now. onemouse is right - Keane really dropped off a level during the past 2 or 3 seasons.
In any case, Keane has always been rather overrated - scoring the odd spectacular goal doesn't make up for the sitters he misses. He isn't overlooked by the way ... au contraire this guy has the commanded the 2nd highest transfer fees of all time over his career.
by play well you mean miss a ridiculous amount of sitters
Too many fancy flicks, like trying to back heal that shot against standard liege rather than just burying it.
Besides what he does on the field (and that's covered here) there's some evidence to suggest he can be disruptive off the pitch as well. Don't know how much there is in this, though.
Such as organising a Christmas party in Dublin for the Spurs squad even though Harry had said that he didn't want the players going for one.
I think it's only really spurs who are trying to get rid of him.. at liverpool he really didn't gel and selling him back was a bit of a no-brainer, even at a massive loss.
He was a legend at Tottenham during his first spell. The fans loved him and would sing "All I want is a team of Robbie Keane's".
Then he left for Liverpool and returned 6 months later with his tail between his legs. His performances haven't been the same since. He looks like he lacks confidence, while none of his fellow strikers at Spurs are a patch on Berbatov.
I would imagine that with the signing of Van der Vaart, Spurs will now try to play 4-5-1 and I don't see how Keane will fit into that system.
Yes, Spurs look to have quality in depth at midfield and their defense looks decent as well.
And it's always nice to have a player like Bale that can provide a bit of flexibility playing midfield or defense.
I just look at that team and it reminds me a bit of the Chelsea of a few years back where they had depth in nearly all positions.
I might be a bit frustrated, though, if I were to find myself in and out of the lineup and not playing regularly. With VdV onboard, what to do with Krancjar, Modric, Palacios, Bentley, Jenas, Lennon, etc.? Thought Tottenham would have shipped out a midfielder in addition to Keane and perhaps find a replacement for Woodgate while he's recovering.
His time at Liverpool was doomed from the second he blocked Torres' shot off the line the first game of the season, I just knew this wasn't going to be good.
Because he's rubbish, but people somehow keep buying in to him being a worthwhile player. If he were down in League 1 or League 2, he'd be a commodity.
He can score ( with women. probably, he's not bad looking and has plenty of cash ) - sets up others for disappointment with daft passing and displays a "Very High Work Rate" tattoo that he got one afternoon whilst his team trained.
Rubbish?!? He's a pretty decent player despite his age and having to adjust to a half dozen teams' systems as he's been passed around.
Is he a first-class striker? Maybe not. Would I want him on my team? Yes.
Look at his numbers - he has produced a good number of goals at different clubs over the years. When he was at Tottenham for a number of years he produced roughly a .5 per game average - that's pretty good.
I'm not saying he's on par with Rooney, RvP, or Torres, but he is quality player who stays fit (which is something a lot of his contemporaries can't say!!!) and contributes.
Maybe you need to watch him alot more. The last time he was 'decent' was at least 3 seasons ago. He dovetailed well with berba and was a good striker back then (never world class, or even near, as you acknowledge). Lately he has been all sorts of crap. He was mildly handy for Celtic, but the SPL's quality is something I don't want to touch on.
Mildly handy for Celtic.
He scored 16 goals in 19 apperances thats more than handy.
It's extremely hard one, but I think at Tottenham at least he's never been able to play with Defoe, too similar maybe, I don't know...
I think a few years ago they even tried to accomadate him by playing three up front... Defoe is just slightly better than him when on form..
Really sad that when he went to Inter, the manager that signed him left, and the new manager didn't rate him at all.. Small things like that can change a players whole career..
Liverpool... Well he just didn't score enough, even though he always put in a good shift, creating for others...
Him and Andy Caroll would have been perfect in my eyes, Shola Ameobi.... Close enough.